Napier Question Answered; Wolf Question Still Needs To Be

A day after the Boston Marathon bombings, Shabazz Napier was looking into a WTNH camera and talking eloquently, soulfully about the pain of his hometown. It was then that Napier paused for a moment and said, "I always tell my close friends that the one thing in life you never do is tell your future."

Napier did plenty of soul-searching and basketball researching in recent weeks, deciding whether his future should be to enter the NBA draft or remain at UConn for a senior season. He talked to his family, particularly his mom, Carmen. He talked to Kevin Ollie and his staff. He said he spent several hours with Jim Calhoun. He leaned on his teammates, notably he singled out Enosch Wolf.

On Friday, Napier announced he was staying at Storrs. In short order, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels said the same.

Voila!

Just like that, the 2013-2014 UConn men's basketball season turned fascinating. Just like that, huge expectations in Connecticut.

I toured the Internet for some early pre-season rankings. The Sporting News had UConn 14th. USA Today did not have UConn among the Top 25 and neither did CBSSports.com or NBC Sports College Basketball Talk. ESPN had UConn 14th. Sports Illustrated had the Huskies 25th and Fox Sports had them 19th.

Maybe it's because UConn fell off the radar to a degree because of its academic ban from the postseason. Maybe it's because all the dust hadn't settled on who's headed to the NBA. Maybe it's because some observers don't fully grasp what Napier brings and the enormous upside of DeAndre Daniels. Whatever it is, in my mind, all but The Sporting News and ESPN have sorely underrated UConn.

Yes, Kentucky will have more NBA players than the 2011-2012 Charlotte Bobcats. Yes, there are a handful of strong returning teams. Yes, I understand UConn's rebounding problems. I went to the games. And, yes, Napier, who probably would have been a late NBA second-round pick, is right-on when he said the one thing you can't do is tell the future. Still, to me, UConn is definitely a Top 15 team, headed toward the Top 10. With a 22-year-old guard like Napier next winter — college basketball is nothing if not Exhibit A of the vital importance of an experienced point man — sign me up for very high expectations.

Questions of size and speed surely will follow Napier into the pros, but there is no question of his penchant for heroics and his ascension as a leader. Remember two years ago when he shot his mouth off better than he shot his shot. Remember, as Kevin Duffy of Hearst Connecticut pointed out, when Napier said things like, "Some guys get punched and want to throw a pillow at somebody " and "I try my best to be a leader, even though guys don't give me a chance to be that person. It shows in the game." Well, Napier learned to harness some of that passion with ample doses of maturity and grace. He is learning to get his point across publicly without sounding selfish and strident. Plus, he hit every shot in overtime he took last season.

Trust your eyes, UConn fans. Trust your instincts and reasoning.

People just are not watching carefully if they think the Huskies, barring catastrophic injury, won't be among the top 25 teams in the nation next season. If they can get any sort of reliable rebounding they should make a run at the Top 10 and make some serious noise in the NCAA Tournament.

This brings us to the 7-1 Enosch Wolf, who averaged 3.4 rebounds as an improving backup center last season before he was suspended the last eight games, and another sort of high expectation. The expectation we must demand of ourselves as citizens and responsible adults. In Wolf's case, it is a matter that has grown increasingly complicated in the past few days.

Satisfied with the court-appointed counseling Wolf underwent, prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday against him. In the early hours of Feb.11, he was arrested on a domestic violence charge for grabbing the hair, pushing the head and knocking the glasses off a UConn student he had been dating. He also refused to leave the apartment.

Twice recently, Ollie has said he believes Wolf has turned it around, matured and addressed matters that led to his arrest. Beyond the domestic violence diversionary program, Wolf has undergone individual counseling. His attorney, Rob Britt, said Wolf also has addressed alcohol issues.

This is conjecture on my part, but it sounds as if Ollie is open to Wolf returning to the team. There's also a university review process. After that, athletic director Warde Manuel and Ollie — and surely president Susan Herbst would be involved — would decide on lifting Wolf's suspension.

With Tyler Olander and Phillip Nolan back, with a couple of big recruits, Kentan Facey and Amida Brimah coming, there is help. And if they pushed out Wolf, if a scholarship opened, a fifth-year or junior college transfer could replace him. That would avoid public criticism. Yet is that the morally correct move?